


Our Summer

by EqualLies



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: !!Warning Angst!!, "You will forget me and that is okay", A Twist Of Fate, A trip together, Gen, Hajime can't take his shoes off, M/M, Oikawa is a derp, So technically he was never alone..., a WHOLE lot of fluff, a last memory, many photos of happy moments, many star filled skies, many warm summer nights, romance or bromance, sleepover in the hospital
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-07-18
Updated: 2016-07-21
Packaged: 2018-07-24 18:43:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,487
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7519123
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EqualLies/pseuds/EqualLies
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“You’re gonna forget me. And that is okay.”<br/>With these words, Iwaizumi leaves his best friend behind. He feels horrible, yet does not dare to speak. Instead he swears to himself that he will remember him forever. And to make him know that.<br/>Which of them will be right, only time will show…</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue: Let’s be like the stars

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Noel-ish.tumblr.com](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=Noel-ish.tumblr.com).



> Hi  
> This is my very first ff, so I'm really looking forward to get your reviews!  
> Let me know if you like it or what I should maybe change in the future  
> I hope you enjoy my story!
> 
> I dedicate this to my beloved girlfriend, who inspires and supports me whatever I do.  
> I love you
> 
> The strong fond at the beginning of a scene tells you when it happens!  
> I numbered the summers, so the year of the 16th summer is the year they turn 16
> 
> I am not a native speaker, so there might be some mistakes. Please forgive me!

_**\--16th summer--**_  
The air smelled like summer.  
The crickets tune vibrated through the warm evening, surrounding the two boys in the wild grass.  
“The stars are beautiful, aren’t they?” the brunette asked thoughtful, gazing up into the endless void filled with shining silver sparks.  
“Mhm” his friend lay on his back, the arms crossed behind his head. A first cool breeze grazed their skin.  
“You know what else is?” the hazel grinned and looked over at the raven.  
“I do.” The boy commented drily.  
Oikawa was dumbstruck. He had expected an annoyed sigh or a biting comment, but not that certainty.  
“You do?”  
“Yep.”  
“…”  
The taller one lay back into the cool grass next to his friend.  
He was not even disappointed. He was just happy. The smooth warmth of contentment spread from his stomach into all of his body, made him comfortable as if he was covered by a blanket in the cooling night. And everything was perfect.  
Wind stroke his hair when he opened his eyes again. Blinking into the light a few times, he noticed a shadow from the corner of his eye.  
Questioningly he tilted his head as he realized it was Hajime, laying on his side and looking at him in silence.  
His scepticism quickly changed to a hint of worry though, as he noticed the almost impossible to spot changes in his features.  
“What’s wrong?”  
His friend looked at him intensely, keeping silent. Then he sat up completely and stared at the sky again. The brunette didn’t dare to speak again. He had known his best friend for as long as he remembered, had shared everything in his life with him. Whenever he had laughed, whenever he had cried, whenever he had just needed someone to talk to or to stay silent with…Hajime had always been there for him. But now that there was something wrong with him, Tooru was clueless. He just did not know what to say.  
Hajime seemed odd. Even though Tooru could have reached out with his hand and touch him, make him turn his face, make him look at him, it seemed as if there was a gap between them. The gap of whole worlds.  
It felt like the earth could break between them and make them drift apart, motionless into the endless nothingness of black space. Without a word.  
He felt like a stranger.  
Suddenly his track of blurry thoughts was cut by Hajime’s clear voice.  
“You’re gonna forget me one day.”  
Toorus eyes widened.  
“What?”  
The raven turned his head, looking at him with an unreadable expression.  
“That’s nonsense.” Tooru replied to his silence in a serious tone.  
Hajime kept quiet though.  
Tooru squinted his eyes at him and straightened up.  
“No!”  
Hajime now turned to him fully, looking him directly in the eyes.  
“It’s okay…” he said quietly. His voice sounded stable, but Tooru could clearly read the bitterness. Hajime stood up, looking down at his friend. After a long second of silence, he calmly spoke up again, emphasizing every word.  
“You’re gonna forget me. And that is okay.”  
And then he was gone, leaving the brunette with his stomach twisting.  
_**\--Two years later—**_  
_**\-- 18th summer—**_  
Oikawa let himself fall back into the grass, staring up at the sky. The dark sky with its countless stars began to turn around him. The longer he looked into the black void, the better his eyes could get a hold of the several colours mixing in Milky Ways, galactic spirals and nebulas streaked by shooting stars and meteors, stars and plants.  
Everything span with him in the centre, rushed past him and burned down, just to be reborn a second later.  
There was no beginning and no end to anything; it was all around him like a never ending story which continued to be told no matter how many voices died down.  
It was all connected, all of what he saw, what surrounded him, visible invisible, if he could sense it or not, everything in space and time was eternally one, inseparable and never apart.  
So technically, he was never alone.


	2. Rubber ducks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "We were young and wild"
> 
> Like a red line, we start the photo chain which will lead us to the end

_**Chapter 1: Rubber ducks**_  
_**\--17th summer--**_  
Oikawa wished he was a dog. Because it was a little inadequate for a human being to pant like a dog. He just couldn’t help it though; it was simply too hot to endure. It was hot in such an extent that it made even an Oikawa Tooru forget about his good looks and pin his hair up. The warehouse in which he temped had no cooling system, so it was a miracle the few workers who had decided to come in on such a day had not literally melted yet. They were probably, like Tooru himself, in real need for that money. At least they were paid quite well for a student job. And on top it was flexible. You came in when you wanted to, worked for as long as you wanted to, left when you wanted to. And you were paid right away, cash directly into your pocket.  
When he finally stepped out of the hall, his heart broke just a bit when the air was not, as he had hoped, cool and refreshing, but just as hot and almost as stifling as it had been inside.  
After a little bit of silent agony, he finally took out his cellphone and flipped it open. His display showed the small happy smiley face, sticking out his tongue to him.  
He had a message.  
“Done yet?”  
The hazel smiled happily about the short note and quickly pressed the tiny buttons. He was skilled in typing blindly, one of the things he was secretly proud of.  
“Just finished! =p”  
The answer came instantly.  
“Got something for the piggy bank?”  
He could almost hear Hajime say this word in his somewhat cynical attitude.  
“We’ll be rich in no time!”  
With this he flipped his phone close again and grinned at the arriving bus. It was almost empty, so he sat down next to the window and lazily leaned his head against the glass.  
When he finally arrived home, he let himself drop down onto the bed face first.  
For a few seconds he just held his breath and lay there unmoving. But then he abruptly jumped up again.  
Okay, time to be full of vim and vigour.  
With a skip in his step he slandered down the stairs again. A nice and refreshing shower was sure to revive his spirit. Yes, he was tired. Granted. But it was worth it. With every hour they worked, they stepped a little closer to fulfilling their plan. No one could stop them from spending their ultimate miracle summer next year!  
They had it all planned. They would start right after Tooru’s birthday, when he would get an actual car from his parents, their present for his graduation. Just the two of them on the road, driving along the coastline. Free and unbound.  
Tooru took a deep breath and smiled. They had talked about this since they were young, their very own personal adventure, and now it was so close. They would make this unforgettable.  
The way to his friend was not far, which he was glad for. Even though the evening sun stung by far less that it had done in the afternoon, the muggy heat still lingered in the streets, trapped by easily heated concrete. The brunette’s shirt stuck to his chest disgustingly and he made a frustrated “bleh”  
If Hajime had been next to him now he would probably have rolled his eyes, telling him that it was typical of the hazel to make those kinds of weird noises.  
“That’s so you.”  
The familiar voice made him raise his head and look at the raven, which sat on the few stairs in front of his family’s house.  
“You look ridiculous by the way.” He added drily and tilted his head sceptically.  
“I’m keeping my shirt from sticking to me!” The taller one explained insulted.  
Hajime laughed just a bit.  
“What are you even doing out here?” Tooru kept his arms crossed and refused to look at the other.  
“Cooling you down.”  
“What?” Now he had looked however. With perfect timing to receive the jet of water with his face. Like a real Volleyball pro.  
Hajime’s laughter echoed through the whole street. A neighbour two houses further just ignored it as he hung up his laundry in the front garden.  
He did look though as a more shrieked than yelled battle cry followed when the brunette jumped on his friend and tried to score the water gun from him. He was easily thrown to the ground though.  
“That was my revenge for the toothpaste!” The raven yelled triumphant, standing over his friend smirking for a second before reaching out his hand to pull him back up.  
Tooru pouted and reached for it.  
But then, without a warning he pulled down the raven and jumped up again, reaching for the gun. Iwaizumi, of course, was not easily tripped up. Quickly he recovered and pushed Tooru away, who began chasing him around the house in his drenched shirt.  
No, they were never too old to have fun.  
Not now and not ever.

 _ **\--18th summer—**_  
“Dear mom and dad,  
Today we reached an especially beautiful lagoon. We decided to stay here overnight and make a campfire. The water is surprisingly warm and so we have been swimming all day. I even almost managed to steal Iwa-chan’s swimshorts!”  
The small text was adorned by a small smiling chibi showing a piece sign.  
“PS: Greetings from Hajime too! He was collecting wood for the fire”  
The photo it was written on showed the brunette smiling into the oblique camera in front of a small…of a tiny campfire.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a light start and already the first photo


	3. White Room

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oikawa breaks the rules...a tiny bit.  
> But what other choices does he have when it's for his best friend's smile?  
> And after all he can spoil him about ALIENS!

_**Chapter 2: White Room**_  
_**\--16th summer—**_  
“It’ll be alright, it’s just a little bad patch.” The raven smiled weakly.  
“Sure.” He replied, but Tooru was well aware who of them was more optimistic. This was nothing out of the normal. Nor was this the first time it had happened. By now Tooru was used to the scary changes which could happen from one day to the other. When his usually so strong friend had to stay in bed instead of joining him on the playground he had learned to still smile at him. To cheer him up. He had seen his features become pale and his eyes glaze over. He had never seen his friend in such a bad condition though.  
Hajime just stared out of the window.  
“The new booster packs are out!”  
He couldn’t stand the silence. The blankness. The sterile white. He hated hospitals.  
Maybe it was a normal thing to dislike them, or maybe it was due to his experiences as a kid, when having to be in a hospital was the same as knowing his friend felt sick and wouldn’t play with him anymore. Surely as a kid he had already known this was a horrible place to exist, and the older he got the more he felt this opinion be justified.  
Hajime turned his head.  
“Already?” his voice was softer than usual. Out of experience, Tooru knew he had probably not drunk enough water. He never did, no matter how often he was told to. Tooru personally had no idea why Hajime despised drinking enough…but he would always bet on his dehydration.  
So instead of answering right away, he grabbed the cup with the especially pretty, turquoise straw, which he had bought especially for Hajime, without telling him, of course, that he had to buy a whole pack consisting of 100 straws. It had been the only turquoise one he had found.  
People obviously had no taste.  
Nevertheless he held the cup out in front of the others displeased looking face, who watched it like a kid watched an injection.  
“I’m not a cripple, Tooru.” He said, refusing to let himself be fed, even just with water.  
The brunette showed no mercy however, continuing to hold it out to him. At every other occasion, Tooru would give a 99% probability that Hajime would start to argue abot it…and, granted, win.  
But this time the raven just sighed in defeat. He knew him better though, so he was not at all surprised when he witnessed in silence how the boy sat up in his bed a little further and took the mug in his hand. He was a natural fighter.  
Not a bad thing when you had to fight leukaemia.  
Tooru was pretty sure he had learned to be strong partly through that, through the ages.  
But then again, maybe he had only ever aged because he was a born fighter…  
Shaking his head shortly, the hazel pushed his bitter thoughts away. Iwaizumi though, how could he not, had noticed it anyway and was staring at him questioningly now, even with the straw between his lips.  
Tooru just shook his head, this time ostentatious.  
Hajime almost breathed in the whole content of the mug now, apparently bundling his remaining force to place it back onto the table as hard as he could to make room for his displeasure. Then he watched his friend expectantly.  
“Hmmmm~?” Hajime’s look darkened a little as the asshole of a best friend dared to play dumb.  
“Aw come on!”  
“What is it, Iwa-chan?”  
“Oh just hand them over.” He said annoyed, but still couldn’t suppress a small, masochistic smile.  
“Oh Iwa-chan? Does this mean you want a present from me?”  
“Tooru.”  
“I thought you said my presents always suck?” he chirped sweetly. Stupid fake innocence.  
“Too-ruu”  
“Or am I mistaken?”  
“I said it’s always stuff you want yourself!”  
“You said they suck!”  
“I didn-“  
“You called me an idiot!”  
The hazel crossed his arms in renewed insulted manner.  
“Okay, they don’t.” the raven grumbled. Tooru looked at him happily though.  
“…always.” He added and Tooru almost snorted.  
“Don’t be mean now, I am in hospital.”  
Tooru inhaled loudly and overdramatically. That was a cheap trick!  
He admitted defeat anyways and reached into his bag, pulling out a few silvery shining trading card booster packs.

 _ **\--17th summer—**_  
“Do you think it’ll all work out?” the raven asked quietly. They had turned off the light in the room to watch the sky through the wide window, how they often did. The moon was half full, shining through the glass and casting a shadow on the black haired boys face. The brunette stretched out his legs a little more, pressing the other a few centimetres closer to the wall.  
They were sitting with their backs at each other’s, and now Tooru leaned his head backwards, resting it against the other’s soft hair. He smiled and closed his eyes as the dark locks poked his eyes and tickled his nose.  
Hajime softly pushed his shoulder backwards a few times, demanding a reply.  
“Of course it will.” The brunette finally answered without letting himself be pushed away by his friend’s shoulder.  
A moment of silence passed.  
“You are an idiot.”  
Tooru was up and about within a split second again, looking over his shoulder with a pout.  
“Why that now?”  
“You are always too optimistic.” He stated drily.  
Tooru forcefully stretched out his legs, this time further.  
“Hey!” Iwaizumi held against it after almost having his face pressed to the wall out of surprise.  
“It’ll work out!” the brunette grinned so bright that it was audible.  
Hajime chuckled a little, then knocked his head backwards a little rough, to give his friend a soft reminder of his favourite nickname for him. Then his eyes traced back to the stars. They stayed silent for a few moments, head to head. The room was not cold, yet Oikawa was sure his friend was secretly enjoying the warmth on his back.  
Hajime stared into the abyss of space. An endlessly ongoing emptiness, forever silent. Of course he would never admit it, but truth be told, Hajime had really come to love watching the sky. The feeling of being so tiny that a few years were just a second, that there was something big and great all around him that would go on spinning no matter what anyone on this planet would ever do. All those things which had used to scare him as a kid, much too big for him to comprehend it, he had come to love. It calmed him down.  
The never dying velvet above his head; by now it was filled with memories as numerous as the stars themselves. Warm summer nights in the field, stargazing on Tooru’s balcony, watching shooting stars in winter, when their breath would freeze in the air above them.  
“Do you think we will find them in America?”  
“Huh?”  
“In America! All the movies always take place there.” The hazel stated as if it was a mathematical formula.  
“Find the-“  
Tooru’s eyes widened as he spun around faster than Hajime could have looked and grabbed his shoulders tightly. His breath grazed the ravens neck as he whispered into his ear.  
“The ALIENS Iwa-chan!”  
Hajime shivered and pulled his shoulders up to drive the hazel away, then he clicked his tongue and rolled his eyes while turning around.  
He rose an eyebrow unimpressed.  
“They are there!” the boy said, pronouncing every word overly insisting.  
Hajime sighed.  
“Lucky me who just wants to see real sights.” He said, regretting it the moment he had finished the sentence. He had provoked it though, so the raven just more or less willingly listened as the brunette started his tirade about his favourite topic.  
Oikawa’s head rested on the raven’s shoulder, who sat in the window completely still. He himself leaned against the wall. The hazel had fallen asleep shortly after he had finally stopped going on and on about some recent UFO sightings somewhere in Belgium.  
Hajime let his cheek sink onto his soft hair, his eyes still up in the sky.  
He felt his lungs burn a bit with every breath and the cold sneak into his bones, but refused to move. Instead he focused on the warmth of the others body which leaned on him, breathing calmly.  
It had been a while since he had not fallen asleep alone.  
He sighted almost inaudibly and shifted a little. Hopefully he was allowed to leave this horribly blank hospital. After all his flue had gotten better quickly in the last few days. It was only a matter of time now until he was well again and able to sleep at home. Suddenly he noticed his frown and bit his lip. He hated how he had recently picked up this bad habit from the damned smiley-face with his overly dramatic expressions. Even if the idiot would always vow that the raven was just as colourful when it came to facial expressions. He doubted that.  
Hajime shifted again, feeling his feet prickle. The awful sensation which he always compared with the black and white pixel snowstorm in old TVs which had no signal.  
Carefully he tried to push the heavy weight of his sleeping friend away to be able to move, but to no avail. Growling silently, he finally managed to heave the hazel away just enough to craw onto his knees and stand up while holding Tooru up. Iwaizumi groaned. It was frustrating how in a few days of sickness ne had become too weak to lift Tooru up. It would take him weeks to cover for that. It was just his luck that Tooru was not awake to stick out his stupid tongue at him. Oh do this typical ‘Oh-no-I-can’t-hold-myself-up-gravity-is-pulling-me-down’ shit he had adapted from ‘Lilo and Stitch’.  
Hajime rolled his eyes as he put the brunettes arm on his shoulders and stood up from the window bench.  
With gritted teeth he carried the taller boy across the small room, ignoring the silent sound of tortured All Stars scraping over PVC floor coating. Exhaling loudly, he finally dropped, or rather threw him onto the bed. Panting heavily, he looked down at the peacefully sleeping boy with the swift smile on his lips. Hajime slowly shook his head.  
‘But he’s unable to sleep when I’m next to him typing on a keyboard.’  
Hajime groaned again, but had to admit to himself that there was no way to suppress the small smile which now conquered his own lips.  
Then he bent down to Oikawa’s feet. The lazy ass. Now he had to take off his stupid, much too complicatedly bound shoes. Why did he have to wrap his laces around his ankles?!  
Too bad he didn’t have any scissors.  
When he was finally done, he heaved the hazel’s legs onto the mattress, then cursed under his breath as he tried to pull away the blanked from underneath the still soundly sleeping hazel. Why was his friend such a WHALE?!  
When the cotton finally slipped, the raven almost tripped over, but managed to catch his balance again in the last moment. Iwaizumi cracked his neck. The light summer blanket was easily thrown over the outstretched body of the brunette, and the raven sat onto the bed next to him. Then he pushed the whale to the side to cuddle into the mattress himself, almost ending up huddling up to him. He closed his eyes content. Usually he covered himself up to the nose with the cotton and was still cold, but with Tooru next to him the bed was warm and comfy…Once again, lucky for him the idiot was asleep to not notice his happiness.  
The only sound in the room was their slow breath, accompanied by occasional mumbling from Oikawa’s side. Hajime lay with his eyes closed, relaxed like he hadn’t been in quite a while. The pale moonlight which fell through the huge window made the room shine. Pale light, white walls, white ceiling, white floor. White furniture he usually watched from his white bed. The only colour in the room were the red and orange lights of the emergency buttons.  
No wonder he hated the lonely nights in here.  
He had been aware that Tooru had noticed it, but never would he have thought the idiot would really push it as far as hiding in his room to have a sleepover. They had been 14 when he had first done that, despite Hajime’s protest. When they had almost been discovered a year ago though, the raven had thought Tooru was ultimately going to stop those sleepovers. But he had been wrong, obviously.  
The idiot…  
Hajime smiled half-asleep. His mother had been right, even if he had disagreed with her every time she had said it. But secretly he had always been aware.  
He had picked out the right one for being his best friend.  
Have you ever tried to hide a 1,8 meters (5.9 feet) tall guy under your blanket while lying next to him? Hajime did.  
Hastily he pushed his head down, desperately trying to make him disappear before the quick steps on the hallway reached their door.  
But oh god why was his friend a WHALE?!  
He had the feeling that this thought crossed his much much too often recently. There was just no room for him though; no matter where he tried to push him, he’d either end up as a giant hunch or, what he thought worse, with his face in his crotch…  
Forcefully he pushed him down a bit more, finally getting a response as the brunette began to struggle against him. Desperately Iwaizumi pressed his hand on his mouth before he’d make a sound and pushed his knee into his ribs to try and make him hold still, just as the door opened.  
Oikawa instantly held his breath as he heard the creaking, which they had been so annoyed by, but were thankful for now. There was almost no oxygen under this blanket though, just heat.  
There wasn’t even enough time for Iwaizumi to go from growling at his friend to pretending to be asleep. Silently he looked up at the stern looking woman, who stared back with her eyebrows raised.  
He had to admit it must have been a rather…questionable image.  
Oikawa’s lungs began to burn. He had the feeling of melting into nothing but sweat. Also Hajime was basically trying to break his neck with sheer force.  
He felt his heart began to race from the lack of air, felt his hand twitch, and then, like a whale diving out of the water, he straightened up and loudly sucked in some fresh air while the blanket flew to their feet. Hajime just closed his eyes in silent resignation. Still, his small, excusing smile stayed on his lips like frozen.  
Maybe it was the inner peace one could obtain when he came to realize he was but one thing: fucked.  
Oikawa himself just restrained himself to blinking a few times, completely dumbstruck. Then he grinned at the woman widely, who had watched the ridiculous scene with a poker face.  
Internally, the raven just smashed him off the bed.  
Tooru, very slowly, reached for the blanked, pulled it back up and, without letting his grin fade, pulled it over himself. Like this he quietly sat there, like an over dimensionally big elementary schooler at Halloween.  
Hajime facepalmed.  
“It’s really not-“ he started, but was shut up by the inappropriately loud voice of the woman in white.  
“What is?”  
The patient blinked irritated.  
“He is-“  
“Well, aside from the fact that you are apparently not sleeping well, it looks like all of the parameters are fine. You need to be asleep at such late times though, young man.”  
Hajime didn’t get it.  
“Uh…”  
Tooru, under the blanket, clicked his tongue. Quickly he jumped up from under the blanket and pushed his friend down to the bed, covering him properly.  
“He’ll be asleep in no time.” He promised with his voice muffled.  
Hajime, now getting it, shifted a little and closed his eyes.  
“Already half asleep.” He said obedient.  
The lady smiled an unexpectedly kind smile and slightly nodded.  
“Sleep well then.” She softly whispered and left with almost inaudible steps.

 _ **\--18th summer—**_  
From: Shizuoka  
“Dear mum and dad  
For this picture I had to ask this awesomely nice couple we met, because I wanted the whole Mount Fuji to be on the photo. But as you can see, it didn’t really work out XD  
Well, I hope you still like the snow…”  
It was written on the back of yet another postcard, which showed an abnormally huge white blurr and, crooked and skewed in the lower corner, the iconic peace sign next to a dot of brown; Oikawa’s head.

A second photo, taken and highlighted in a photo automat showed an elderly couple, smiling widely.  
On the back it said:

“They left this for our album! Such nice people! But here you can see why the picture is so blurry XD”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So now you are slowly getting a hold of how Hajime spends a big part of his life  
> Can you feel the angst tonight?  
> Well, it will come up
> 
> It's not much, but we're slowly starting  
> Wait for a lot of fluff in the next chapter too!


End file.
